Developments in EUROPE [AP World History Review—Unit 1 Topic 6]

Summary

This script explores the religious and political landscape of Europe between 1200 and 1450. It highlights the dominance of Christianity, with Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic branches, and discusses the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans. The script also delves into the feudal system of Western Europe, where lords and monarchs held power through land and military allegiances. As monarchs centralized power, this led to wars of conquest and the rise of powerful states, setting the stage for significant political changes.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The period from 1200 to 1450 in Europe was marked by significant religious developments, with Christianity, particularly Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholic Christianity, playing a central role in shaping political and social structures.
• ⚔️ The Byzantine Empire, which upheld Eastern Orthodox Christianity, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, leading to the end of its rule and the transfer of its religious and cultural influence to the Slavic people, particularly the Russians.
• 🕌 Despite the dominance of Christianity, Islam and Judaism held important minority positions in Europe, notably in the Iberian Peninsula where Muslims had a significant presence.
• 📜 The Crusades, initiated by the Roman Catholic Church, aimed to rally European Christians to fight against Muslims, though they were largely unsuccessful and resulted in a broader connection to trade networks.
• 🏰 The political landscape of Europe during this period was characterized by decentralization and fragmentation, with no large empires in place, unlike other regions of the world.
• 👑 Feudalism was the dominant social, political, and economic system in Western Europe, involving a hierarchical structure of allegiances between lords and monarchs, with land being exchanged for loyalty.
• 🌾 Manorialism was the agricultural system that accompanied feudalism, where serfs worked the land in exchange for protection, living conditions that were akin to slavery but without the legal status of being owned by the lord.
• 🛡️ The power dynamics in Europe began to shift around 1200, as monarchs started to centralize their authority, introducing large militaries and bureaucracies to consolidate their rule.
• 🤝 The centralization of power among monarchs led to increased competition and conflict among states, resulting in numerous Wars of Conquest to determine dominance and territorial control.
• 📚 The script suggests the importance of understanding the historical context of this period for students studying AP World History, offering resources such as a review guide to aid in academic success.
• 🔗 The fall of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of monarchical power in Europe set the stage for significant cultural, religious, and political changes that would shape the continent's future.

Q & A

What was the official state religion of the Roman Empire during the time of Emperor Constantine?

Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire thanks to Emperor Constantine.

What happened to the Roman Empire in 476 CE?

In 476 CE, the Western half of the Roman Empire fell, but the Eastern half, known as the Byzantine Empire, continued to exist.

What is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and how did it relate to the Byzantine Empire?

Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a branch of the Christian faith that was predominant in the Byzantine Empire, providing a belief structure that helped rulers justify and consolidate their highly centralized power.

How did the Byzantine Empire influence the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Europe?

The Byzantine Empire, despite losing significant territory to Islamic powers, wielded enormous influence on the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Europe through its religious and political structures.

What event marked the end of the Byzantine Empire?

The end of the Byzantine Empire came in 1453 when the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul.

Which group embraced Eastern Orthodox Christianity after the fall of the Byzantine Empire?

The Rus' people, or the ancestors of modern Russians, embraced Eastern Orthodox Christianity and became the main embodiment of this branch of Christianity after the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

How did Roman Catholicism maintain its presence in Western Europe despite political fragmentation?

Roman Catholicism maintained a powerful presence in Western Europe through the church hierarchy of popes, bishops, and cardinals, which provided some common structure among the various states.

What were the Crusades, and how did they affect European trade networks?

The Crusades were religious wars initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to fight against Muslims in distant lands. Although Europeans often lost, these wars connected them to larger trade networks.

What minority religious positions were held by Islam and Judaism in Europe during 1200 to 1450?

Islam held a significant position in the Iberian Peninsula after the Muslim invasion in the 8th century, while Jews were scattered throughout Europe, participating in trade but often facing marginalization and persecution.

What was feudalism, and how was it organized in Western Europe?

Feudalism was a system of allegiances between powerful lords and monarchs, where land was exchanged for loyalty. It was organized around a system of manorialism, where peasants (serfs) were bound to the land and worked in exchange for protection.

How did the political structures in Europe begin to change around the start of the period from 1200?

Monarchs in various states began to gain power and centralize their states by introducing large militaries and bureaucracies, shifting power from the nobility to the monarchs and leading to wars of conquest for influence and territory.

Outlines

00:00

🏰 Medieval Europe and the Rise of Christianity

This paragraph discusses the development of Christianity in Europe from 1200 to 1450. It begins with the Roman Empire's adoption of Christianity as the state religion, thanks to Emperor Constantine. The script then explains the division of the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern halves, leading to the Byzantine Empire's continuation of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Byzantine Empire's influence is noted, particularly its eventual fall to the Ottoman Empire and the renaming of Constantinople to Istanbul in 1453. The paragraph also touches on the role of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe and the impact of the Crusades, which connected Europeans to larger trade networks despite military setbacks.

Keywords

💡Feudalism

Feudalism was a social, political, and economic system that dominated Western Europe during the Middle Ages, where power was decentralized. Lords and monarchs gained allegiance through the exchange of land, and this system created a hierarchy where lesser lords were bound to greater ones. In the video, feudalism is discussed as the primary structure of medieval Europe, contrasting with the more centralized systems found in other regions like the Byzantine Empire.

💡Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the Roman Empire that continued to thrive after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE. The video highlights its importance in maintaining Eastern Orthodox Christianity and its influence on the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Europe. The Byzantine Empire eventually fell in 1453 when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, marking the end of its millennium-long existence.

💡Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the branch of Christianity practiced in the Byzantine Empire, which served as a unifying force in the region. It provided a centralized belief system that helped Byzantine rulers justify their power. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Orthodoxy was embraced by the Kievan Rus, who adopted many Byzantine traditions. This contrasts with Roman Catholicism in Western Europe, which played a similar role in a more decentralized context.

💡Roman Catholicism

Roman Catholicism was the dominant branch of Christianity in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Despite political fragmentation, it provided a common religious structure across the continent, with a hierarchy of popes, bishops, and cardinals. The video discusses how Roman Catholicism played a crucial role in unifying Western Europe, even leading to events like the Crusades, where European Christians were mobilized to fight in the Holy Land.

💡Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated by European Christians to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control. The video explains that, despite the overall failure of these campaigns (except for the First Crusade), the Crusades connected Europeans to larger trade networks. This had a significant impact on the economy and cultural exchanges in Europe, despite the military defeats.

💡Manorialism

Manorialism was the economic structure that supported feudalism, where peasants, known as serfs, were bound to work the land owned by a lord in exchange for protection. The video highlights that while manorialism appeared to be a mutual exchange, it was heavily skewed in favor of the lords, with serfs having very limited freedoms. This system was a fundamental aspect of medieval European society.

💡Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus was a federation of Slavic tribes under the rule of the Varangians, which later became a powerful state in Eastern Europe. The video mentions that after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Kievan Rus adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity and carried on Byzantine traditions, such as architectural styles and the Cyrillic alphabet. This adoption helped shape the cultural and religious identity of the region.

💡Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was a Muslim empire that rose to power in the late medieval period, eventually conquering Constantinople in 1453, which marked the end of the Byzantine Empire. The video briefly discusses the Ottomans' significant role in changing the power dynamics in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, as their conquest of Constantinople not only ended the Byzantine Empire but also established Istanbul as a major cultural and political center.

💡Decentralization

Decentralization refers to the fragmentation of power among various local lords and monarchs, rather than being concentrated in a single central authority. The video explains how after the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, Europe became politically fragmented, leading to the development of feudalism. This decentralized structure contrasted with the more centralized systems in other regions, such as the Byzantine Empire.

💡Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism refers to prejudice, discrimination, or hostility towards Jews. The video touches on how, despite the presence of Jews across Europe who often played key roles in trade, they were frequently marginalized and persecuted by the Christian majority. This anti-Semitism kept Jewish communities on the fringes of European society, reflecting the broader social and religious tensions of the period.

Highlights

Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine.

The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, leading to the rise of the decentralized feudal system in the West.

The Byzantine Empire, the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, maintained Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Byzantine Empire's influence persisted until the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople in 1453.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity was embraced by the Russians after the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Roman Catholic Christianity provided a common structure among various states of Western Europe.

The Crusades were religious wars initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to fight Muslims.

Islam and Judaism held minority positions in Europe, with Muslims ruling the Iberian Peninsula and Jews scattered throughout.

Anti-Semitism led to the marginalization and persecution of Jews in European society.

Feudalism was a system of allegiances between powerful Lords and Monarchs in Western Europe.

Manorialism was the system where peasants were bound to the land and worked in exchange for protection.

Serfs were bound to the land but not owned by the Lord, differing from slavery.

Monarchs began to centralize power in Europe by introducing large militaries and bureaucracies.

Centralization of power led to competition and wars among European monarchs for influence and territory.

The Crusades connected Europeans to larger trade networks, despite their military failures.

The video offers a review guide for AP World History to help students achieve high scores.

Transcripts

okay let's finish our unit one tour of

the world and see what kind of spicy

developments are going on in Europe from

1200 to 1450. so if you're ready to get

them brain cows milked feudalistically

well let's get to it okay first let's

talk religion and for Europe we're going

to talk about Christianity now back

during the time of the Roman Empire

Christianity became the official state

religion thanks to our boy emperor

Constantine after a while that belief

system United Romans all over the dang

place but in 476 CE the Western half of

the Roman Empire fell so sad but cheer

up because the eastern half of the Roman

Empire known as the Byzantine Empire

kept the faith and its politically and

socially organizing properties alive for

another Millennium now the Byzantine

flavor of the faith was known as Eastern

Orthodox Christianity and it provided a

belief structure that helped Byzantine

rulers justify and consolidate their

power structure which was highly

centralized but over in the West after

the highly centralized Roman Empire fell

this region broke apart politically into

many decentralized entities and we'll

talk more about that in a minute but

despite that fragmentation in the west

Christianity maintained a powerful

presence in the form of Roman Catholic

Christianity Now by 1200 the Byzantine

teen Empire had experienced a thorough

butt whipping by neighboring Islamic

powers and ended up losing significant

amounts of territory too however that

didn't mean that they didn't still wield

enormous influence on the Eastern

Mediterranean and Southwest Europe

because they did that is until 1453 when

a new Muslim power known as the Ottoman

Empire sacked the crown jewel of

Byzantium namely the capital city of

Constantinople and went ahead and

changed the name to Istanbul and that

was the end of the Byzantine Empire

moment of silence please okay that's

enough now wipe that single tear from

your face because while the Byzantine

empire fell Eastern Orthodox

Christianity would be picked up off the

ground and embraced by another group who

would keep it alive namely the cave and

ruse now to be fair they had adopted

Eastern Orthodoxy way before the fall of

Constantinople but now that the

byzantines were smashed to Pieces the

roost became the main embodiment of this

branch of Christianity and doing so they

borrowed quite a bit from their

Byzantine PALS like their architectural

Styles or alphabet the idea of using

Church structures to organize the state

but again over in Western Europe this

kind of centralization was not occurring

these days were pretty isolated from

everyone else in the World in terms of

trading connections but still Roman

Catholicism was one constant across the

continent the church hierarchy of popes

and Bishops and Cardinals provided at

least some common structure among the

various states of Western Europe and in

addition to the common structure of the

Roman Catholic Church also provided

occasions to whip European Christians

into a religious Fury and go fight

Muslims in distant lands these occasions

of course are known as the Crusades and

with the exception of the First Crusade

Europeans pretty squarely got whipped by

the Muslim but it did have the effect of

connecting Europeans to larger trade

networks but we'll talk about that in

unit too but before we move on to the

juicy political organization of these

states it's important to know that while

Christianity was certainly the dominant

belief system here Islam and Judaism

held important minority positions for

example over here on the Iberian

Peninsula Muslims had invaded in the 8th

century and by our period they ran the

place additionally Jews were scattered

throughout Europe and regularly

facilitated and participated in trade

but as it turns out a lot of European

Christians were suspicious of Jews and

so various ways of anti-Semitism or you

know Jewish marginalization and

persecution kind of kept them living at

the edges of European Society okay now

if you've been watching my previous unit

one videos hold on to your butts because

what I'm about to say might come as a

shock around the start of this period

there were precisely no large empires in

Europe

what like think about all the places

that we visited in unit one the Aztecs

and the Incas were running crap in the

Americas the song dynasty in China was

massive Islamic Empires were grabbing

land all over the dang place but not in

Europe instead decentralization and

political fragmentation was the soup du

jour in Europe and so let's talk about

in Western Europe the social political

and economic order was essentially

organized around a system known as

feudalism and maybe that's an unfamiliar

word but don't worry your efforts to

understand it are not

feudal anyway feudalism was a system of

allegiances between powerful Lords and

Monarch basically the greater Lords and

Kings gained Allegiance from lesser

Lords and kings and land was exchanged

to keep everyone loyal now all these

patches of land were owned and ruled

pretty much independently and the system

at work here was known as minorialism so

here peasants were bound to the land and

worked in exchange for protection from

the Lord and his military forces and

that kind of makes it sound like a

mutual exchange but in truth these

peasants known as serfs were little

different than slaves the big difference

was that surfs were not owned by the

Lord but rather as I said they were

bound to the land in the manor and

that's how it was for a long time in

Europe however around the start of our

period in 1200 and you know a little bit

before Europe's political structures

began to change monarchs in various

states began to gain power and

centralize their stage by introducing

large militaries and bureaucracies and

this is a big deal because prior to this

it was the European nobility that held

most of the power but more and more

monarchs in this period are going to get

on their power pants and centralize

their Authority under themselves but you

didn't think there weren't going to be

any consequences for that increasing

centralization did you don't be great no

with powerful monarchs On The Rise they

would increasingly be looking toward one

another and competing for influence and

territory which led to all kinds of Wars

of Conquest to determine who indeed wore

the biggest power pain all right click

here to watch all my videos covering

unit one and click here to grab my AP

World heimler review guide which has

everything you need to get an A in your

class and a five on your examine so I'll

see you over in unit two I'm larouche